Is there a ban on Japanese milk

[GlorifiedRice]

I have been craving a nice ice cold bottle of Gogo No Kocha and drove to ALL the Asian Mkts in the area. NO Gogo No Kocha! A lady at Maida in Narberth, Pa told me its cause of the milk in it and imports...

I dont agree!

Plenty of milk coffees and Calpico etc on the shelves...

Anyone know anything?

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

I have been craving a nice ice cold bottle of Gogo No Kocha and drove to ALL the Asian Mkts in the area. NO Gogo No Kocha! A lady at Maida in Narberth, Pa told me its cause of  the milk in it and imports...

I dont agree!

Plenty of milk coffees and Calpico etc on the shelves...

Anyone know anything?

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It's very difficult to get unpasteurized milk across the border.

milk coffees are generally pasteurized

[GlorifiedRice]

Im sure Gogo No Kocha is indeed pasteurized as its in cans and bottles and shelf stable.

[rykomatsu]

I still think it's pretty funny that Calpis is called Calpico here lol. (off topic, I know )

[melonpan]

I have been craving a nice ice cold bottle of Gogo No Kocha and drove to ALL the Asian Mkts in the area. NO Gogo No Kocha! A lady at Maida in Narberth, Pa told me its cause of  the milk in it and imports...

it is true. its is because of the milk and importing problems. believe you me, you want milky tea/milk coffee, etc and nishimoto trading and all those other importers want to sell these drinks to you. grocery stores keep gogo no kocha, etc on order (g.n.kocha is popular. and in the american japanese grocery store, the beverage case is right up there in terms of profits), but whether or not it can come in to the states is another story.

they become on again off again available partly due to import restrictions and bans. im sure there are other reasons but this is def. partly true.

how calpis and those other drinks get by, *shrug*. they just do.

as to why there is an import problem, dont know. but i heard speculation (and it is JUST speculation) that its retaliatory in nature bc of the old (3 or 4 years ago?) bans against u.s. beef.

maybe someone in the biz knows the reasons why.

[Ce'nedra]

I still think it's pretty funny that Calpis is called Calpico here lol. (off topic, I know )

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What exactly IS Calpis btw? I've drank it twice (if I remember correctly) and thought it tasted pretty nice but have no idea what's going down my throat

[v. gautam]

Not directly related, but the word "ban" jogged my memory of an article:

http://financial.washingtonpost.com/custom...}&tid=informbox

Has anyone seen similar reports in Japan or is this an orchestrated move in the US media, a prelude to more trade sanctions and such?

[melonpan]

I still think it's pretty funny that Calpis is called Calpico here lol. (off topic, I know )

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What exactly IS Calpis btw? I've drank it twice (if I remember correctly) and thought it tasted pretty nice but have no idea what's going down my throat

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calpis are a group of soft drinks that contain milk powder in them.

good schtuff.

i also really like the calpis soda.

[sanrensho]

What exactly IS Calpis btw?

I guess what is unique about Calpis is that it is made from a fermented milk. The process is described here.

It sure used to be a treat to open up a bottle of Calpis concentrate (before the pre-mixed Calpis drinks took over). I can remember the anticipation at opening up that big bottle of concentrate wrapped tightly in the white polka dot paper. Felt like Christmas every time.

I see that the bottles have now disappeared.

[helenjp]

The report that v. gautam linked to is probably not related to import bans, since none of the companies does much (maybe even any?) export trade.

I haven't found anything in English or Japanese regarding this, but it's possibly some kind of tariff or quota cap - Japan and the US have been jostling over import and export of "sensitive" agricultural products for a while, and dairy seems to be part of this. Both Japan and the US have if anything ramped up subsidization of domestic milk producers, so I imagine that the status quo will be with us for a while yet.

It may be that fermented milk products come under a separate heading from fresh or processed milk.

However, there seem to be two issues involved - one is the use of ersatz, inferior, or past consume-by date ingredients, and consequent false labeling.

I haven't actually looked into this, but apart from the scandal, I'm not sure how much "bite" the relevant regulations have traditionally had in Japanese law (I'm sure they are tighter now than they were).

The other issue is a problem which I've seen raised on the pastry board here - products which are frozen for later shipping/retailing as "freshly made" produce.

This second issue seems to stem from food industry regulations and labeling practices which don't really have a realistic and clear policy on "frozen to sell fresh" products.

[v. gautam]

There is a mild-to-moderate, [yet sustained] premeditated xenophobia promoted by the "tame" elements of the US press, undoubtedly in concert with trade lobbies, against China in many guises.

The latest is impugning its prepared and processed foods industry:stories of soy sauce hydrolysed out of human hair and such! I remember seeing elsewhere on eGullet a member vowing to strip her refrigerator of all China-origin condiments immediately.

Washington Post and New York Times are part of the "tame" press and are as clever/subtle as they are insidious in achieving various foreign policy goals favored by the 'establishment". I do hope Japanese food products do not get "slammed" by the type of mischievous reporting that precedes and accompanies trade tussles.

Edited November 2, 2007 by v. gautam (log)

[helenjp]

Don 't worry, the Japanese media is more than equal to the challenge of giving as good as it gets in that department!

However, I try not to worry too much about it, as I am sure that for everybody who worries about having a PC refrigerator, many others suddenly feel curious about the reality behind all the fuss, and head for the library, the bookshop, the internet, their foreign neighbors, the ethnic groceries and restaurants...

[GlorifiedRice]

Well according to a google search, the FDA wont let it thru due to this:

Reason: NEEDS FCE

Section: 402(a)(4), 801(a)(3); ADULTERATION

Charge: It appears the manufacturer is not registered as a

low acid canned food or acidified food manufacturer pursuant

to 21 CFR 108.25©(1) or 108.35©(1).

[melonpan]

glorified rice it might be worth it for you to call your local market and see if they have gogo no kocha in stock.

i found some tonight and im enjoying it now as i type.

for the record tonight i also saw for sale calpis, and some coffee milk products as well.

[GlorifiedRice]

Melon?

Thats what I did, I drove to every Asian Mkt in my entire area.

Thy had none. I went to the only Japanese mkt and they were the ones

who told me there is a ban on milk

[melonpan]

Thats what I did, I drove to every Asian Mkt in my entire area.

i meant try it today since they might have it back in stock!

we were out for a while too and then i saw them again yesterday. i am telling you that they come and go, come and go. it is definitely worth your while to at least call one or two japanese markets in your area to see if they are now restocked with gogo no kocha.

[GlorifiedRice]

YAY! Im drinking Gogo No Kocha once again...

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

YAY! Im drinking Gogo No Kocha once again...

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I saw some at a Nijiya in Southern California, and I thought about this thread.

[raji]

I still think it's pretty funny that Calpis is called Calpico here lol. (off topic, I know )

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My own determination was that the name was changed because it sounds too much like 'Cow piss' and its a dairy product.

no problem getting that or milk tea in the NYc area... I just wish the calpis seasonal flavors were readily available...

[_john]

I think gogo no kocha tastes different in Japan than it does in the U.S. Would someone mind posting a picture of the package and the ingredients label I'm curious. I remember it not coming in the standard 1.5l rectangular PET bottle that it comes in here. Anyone else think so?